The actress who received an Academy Award for her role in "12 Years a Slave" has been named People magazine's "Most Beautiful" woman in the world for 2014.
The U.S. magazine announced Wednesday that it had chosen Lupita Nyong'o for the honor, and displayed the actress on its cover.
The 31-year-old Nyong'o was born in Mexico and raised in Kenya. She gained fame last year for her role as the slave "Patsey" in "12 Years a Slave," and won the Oscar for best supporting actress.
People says Nyong'o called her selection as "Most Beautiful" a "major, major compliment." She said that she once equated beauty with light skin and long, flowing hair, but had come to believe that she too was beautiful.
Nyong'o said she was happy for girls who would see her on the magazine's cover and feel, in her words, "a little more seen."
In addition to winning an Oscar, the actress recently landed a contract with the Paris-based Lancome cosmetics and skincare company.
People is one of the United States' most widely read magazines.
The U.S. magazine announced Wednesday that it had chosen Lupita Nyong'o for the honor, and displayed the actress on its cover.
The 31-year-old Nyong'o was born in Mexico and raised in Kenya. She gained fame last year for her role as the slave "Patsey" in "12 Years a Slave," and won the Oscar for best supporting actress.
People says Nyong'o called her selection as "Most Beautiful" a "major, major compliment." She said that she once equated beauty with light skin and long, flowing hair, but had come to believe that she too was beautiful.
Nyong'o said she was happy for girls who would see her on the magazine's cover and feel, in her words, "a little more seen."
In addition to winning an Oscar, the actress recently landed a contract with the Paris-based Lancome cosmetics and skincare company.
People is one of the United States' most widely read magazines.